Europa the Perfect Tonic for Gin Club Operation

The Warehouse division of the UK’s leading logistics provider, Europa Worldwide Group, is preparing for its busiest ever festive period, with record volumes of specialist gin to be processed through its Northampton site.

Europa has had a strong partnership with one of its largest customers, online gin retailer, Craft Gin Club, for nearly three years, processing the company’s growing order volumes since it began business in January 2015. The company is the UK’s number one online subscription club for gin enthusiasts, delivering boxes to its members containing unique, independent gins from around the world, and is set to more than double its membership over the next 12 months. This forecast expansion follows a period of rapid growth since securing £75,000 worth of investment from restaurateur, Sarah Willingham, on the BBC TV programme Dragon’s Den in 2016.

These figures reflect the explosion in consumer demand for craft gin over the past few years, as well as the rapid growth in global e-commerce, with 77 per cent of UK adults buying goods or services online in the last 12 months - a 25 per cent increase in just 8 years.

Maria Torrent-March, Director of Europa Warehouse, said Europa is making all necessary preparations at its 85,000 sq. ft Northampton site for the critical festive trading period and beyond, in order to cater for Craft Gin Club’s projected growth.

She commented: “Craft Gin Club has fast become one of our largest customers, facilitated by its pioneering approach to ecommerce and forward-thinking strategy. The company has played a huge part in the boom of the craft gin market and is helping to shape the trend of gin drinking by bringing independent distillers to the mass market. It has been integral that Europa’s operations reflect this quality to provide the best possible level of service.

Current plans show that Europa’s Northampton team will be picking and packing over 2.2 times the amount of craft gin boxes this festive season compared to 2016. This rapid increase in volumes will call for a significant increase in manpower, with a 75 per cent increase in staff levels at the warehouse over the coming weeks.

Maria continued: “The sheer volume of orders we are scheduled to process highlights how important it is to have the right facilities, equipment, processes and people in place. Craft Gin Club trust us to efficiently deliver a responsive and quality service for its customers. We have played an instrumental role in facilitating the company’s rapid growth over the past few years and we look forward to working towards what’s set to be the biggest and busiest year yet for both of our businesses.”

Jon Hulme, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Craft Gin Club said: “Europa have been instrumental in helping us achieve our rapid growth over the past three years - pulling out all the stops during peak trading periods to ensure we deliver the best possible service to our loyal customers. The gin boom is still going strong, and we’re very much driving that trend. As interest in craft gin grows, so does our membership base. It’s a very exciting time!

“Our success is built on our amazing partner distillers – they make incredible gins, and we introduce those spirits to gin lovers across the UK. Europa has provided an outsourced service with a high level of professionalism to enable us to do this. We’re gaining members fast, but Europa has been right there beside us, scaling seamlessly as the company grows. When great gins meet Europa’s excellent customer service and a passionate, engaged community, it’s hard to go wrong!”

As well as its specialist Warehouse facilities in Northampton, Birmingham and Dartford, Europa Worldwide Group offers specialist road, air, sea and showfreight services, employing more than 600 staff across 11 sites in the UK and Hong Kong.